No surprises, big guns sail into the semis

With a little luck at the end, defending champion Maria Sharapova returned to the Wimbledon semifinals by beating fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 7-6 (6), 6-3 on Tuesday. In the final game, Sharapova clipped the net on consecutive points ? and won both.

With a little luck at the end, defending champion Maria Sharapova returned to the Wimbledon semifinals by beating fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 7-6 (6), 6-3 on Tuesday. In the final game, Sharapova clipped the net on consecutive points — and won both.

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Her opponent on Thursday will be two-time champion Venus Williams, who beat Mary Pierce 6-0, 7-6 (10). Williams, bidding for her fifth Grand Slam title and her first since 2001, overcame five set points in the tiebreaker.

The other semifinal will match top-ranked Lindsay Davenport, the 1999 champion, against third-seeded Amelie Mauresmo. Davenport finished with an ace to eliminate US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (1), 6-3. Mauresmo reached the semifinals for the third time in four years by beating Anastasia Myskina 6-3, 6-4.

Sharapova survived two close sets in a baseline battle with the eighth-seeded Petrova. In the final game, Sharapova saved the only break point she faced with a net-cord winner, then caught another lucky bounce off the net to win the next point.

“I told the ball to hit the net and roll over,” Sharapova said with a giggle. “That comes with experience. I thanked the fairy for taking the ball and bringing it over the net.” When Petrova sent a forehand long on the first match point, the second-seeded Sharapova let loose her familiar shriek, then happily stretched her arms skyward as if doing callisthenics. She extended her grass-court winning streak to 22 matches.

Among a Grand Slam record four Russian women in the quarterfinals, Sharapova was the lone winner.

No. 12-seeded Pierce needed 37 minutes and 56 points to win a game against Williams, and the Frenchwoman grinned when she broke through to make the score 6-0, 1-1. Her shots became much more consistent from that point, and both players held serve to 6-all. The tiebreaker produced a series of exciting rallies, but Pierce squandered repeated chances to force a third set.

When she blew an easy putaway on a backhand volley at 6-all, Williams yelled “Yes!” and raised both fists. But the No. 14-seeded Williams had to hit three more winners before she closed out the victory.

The fifth-seeded Kuznetsova failed to convert a set point in the 10th game of the first set against Davenport, who won the final six points in the tiebreaker. Davenport is bidding for her fourth major title and her first since 2000. She’s assured of retaining the No. 1 ranking next week, regardless of how the final four fare.

Mauresmo has yet to lose a set in five rounds, and she showed the crowd how effective her game can be on grass. She played serve-and-volley, chip- ped and charged on returns and smartly mixed the pace of her shots against Myskina.

Shaky nerves have plagued Mauresmo in the past, but she calmly served out the victory at love. When the ninth-seeded Myskina sailed a backhand long on match point, Mauresmo leaped with glee and punched the air.

Mauresmo, a former No. 1 player seeking her first Grand Slam title, lost in the semifinals in 2002 and 2004. She missed the 2003 tournament with an injury. Mauresmo has lost to Davenport in their past six meetings dating to 2000. Sharapova is 2-0 against Williams.